Traveling block



Patented Sept. i6, lQI/.

FRANK a am; een, amm,

TRAVILING BLOCK.`

Application fndfofber 22, reas. seriali Ndeaev'.

To all whom t'mafg/ concern: y i, I,

-4Beit known that I, FRANK F.y Mrzili, a citizen of the United States, residing. atSeal, Beach, in the county 4of, LQsn/-fingeles and State efl California, have invented neyvand useful Improvements p Traveling Blocks,

of which the following is a. detailed specification.` 4 l ya, This invention relates to lbloclls and more particularly to that type of block adapted to` be attachedto-and hoisted with the'vveight or work, Such blocks are commonly known as traveling or runningfi blocks, A A While the inventionr`v may be advantageously appliedto blocks xused for ,different purposes and in'` many and various situations, it is' of special` value in connection With blocks used in handling of drill pipe and Well casing. Therefore, I yvill kdescribe ythe invention as applied to such use,` explaining its advantageousfeatures kin connection Vwith this particular application, Without intend'- ing to infer by this reference to a specific application that the invention is .in any Way restricted t0 such limited use. l Traveling blocks as used in oil Well kryderricks or rigs are suspended by cables frein` an overhead crown block, and due ,tov the` tremendous Weight they arel called upon to support and the excessive stressesV and strains to which they are subjected, must necessarily be massive and of extremelyheavy construction. Their over-all length often exceeds live feet, While their Width may be as great as twenty or more inches. Their width is determined by the number of side yby'side sheaves provided, and this number. usually ranges about four, as the great Weight of the Work requires that the hoistingI cable be'y rove throughthe .block several times'.

Such blocks therefore take up a lconsiderable space and are so bulky as to Width that they4 often greatly impede the Work of setting yand withdrawing casing of pipe, by accidentally l contacting With and catching on the ,der-rick structure platforms, rigging, etc. Thusthey` derrick man, who stands on the stabbing board to attach and detach the elevator, carried by thel block, to stands of pipe or casing, is often called upon to guidel the block dut of the Way 0f such obstructions Il during vertical movement of the block. This is done at great peril to the,k derrick man, asy his fingers are very liable to'beI drawn intoA the sheaves by the traveling cable. yShould he fail to properly guide the bloc-ks overv these' instructie gr ,at Caussd-t0ilfef Mii prorry? Therefore,it isone of the principe, jects ,0f this inventin,tosplOYM a WhichA hasv the necessary strength," A' c rigid@L ty -aldialksr' plfllliSifQ i561?4 sheaves for the" task in hand", andfy Y n greatly reduced widthk, This I acpmpqsliy waaraan' Steves; amende 'vr/65 in ther wort s, provide a" plurality o ve cal y spaced sheave pinsg each' carf I'in e onekor more of they shealvesfsotflieL effective width of;` thel block reduced to an amount p equal only to. thftotalydth ef th" 0n a' Singlevnirilcrmrhallytt,ali lea hlffhe, Width fthfiislfill blQfi-Clhflng' gaat@ numbemfhaveg; sinttia PlftS fpfm-fh lii-f ShfQYS 91;.4 in riiy,pas.atsiaaaleqf catia mamma' the" 75 upper, sheaves; the, sheaves ,dei the. pas, @if dit@ Ona givenfpinjbeingfjoflaifger dianieterthaii y, thatof thefws'heavesA pn'thelpin'neitabove By reaSOIi of the ofthe sheaves, the cable kft @lltli ,Slilveslar'e SLdbyjSid and sequeiitrreduht'oii of slidev draft; r

I have also constructed the block in such a manner that it `may be easily.disassem' bled and reassembled,`and preferably pro-` vide a plurality of interchangeable sheaves' of varying diameter and face widths, so the sheave combination may be altered to meet various hoisting situations.

t Other objects and features of novelty will be set out in the followingdetailed description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in 'which A lvation Fi'g. lrshows an improved blockin elelFig. 2 is 'aside elevation of Fig. 1, the lower end y'of the block being broken away medially to show the becket mounting inl section; and'v Figu'3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but entirely in elevation andl showing the substitution of av single upper sheave for the two shown in Fig. 1. Y

At the outset, I wish to state that while I have shown two sets' of sheaves in vertical alinement and have illustrated a certain method of mounting the sheave pins in the cheek pieces, have made this showing merely as illustrative of the invention, and

lI may vary the number of ksheave pins and sheaves, change the proportional dimensions ofthe sheaves on a single p1n,or of the sheaves yon the several pins, or provide k:other types of pin mounting, without de-l face 10'a of platelO. Preferably, the peripheral faces *of' heads 19 and 20 fit snugly within counterbores 17 and 18, respectively,

' sov the lheads aid in resisting the shearing stresses between plates and pins.

. The outer side faces of beckets'21 and 22 merge into the vouter side faces' of the cheek plates and are flush with said plate facesat'their pointof juncture. The becket has spaced legs 23 which are inset from the outer side .faces of the beckets, and these legs bear against the inner side faces ofthe cheek plates, being provided'with axially alined 'bores to receive the becket Shoulders 24, formed by insetting plIlS'. legs 23, arev arcuate and concentric with the becket pins, so the beckets may have limitedpivotal movement about their respective pins.v v

A partition plate 25, preferably coexten- Pin heads 19 and 20 may be provided with such means as lugs 27 ,fitting in complementary notches 28 in plates 10, to prevent rotative movement of the pins so nuts 29 may be threaded on the threaded pin extremities 30, which extremities are preferably of reduced diameter to`v provide shoulders 31 for engagement by the nut, to prevent the nuts from being drawn against plate 11 with sufiicient force to pinch the cheek plates, becket legs and spacers too tightly together'. l

Sheave pins 34 and 35 are preferably of the same construction as the becket pins, and are mounted in the cheek and partition plates in a fmanner similar lto that of said becket pins. Therefore, the construction and mounting of pins 34 and 35 need not be discussed. The drawings plainly illustrate that these pins do not 'pros ject beyond the outer side face of plate 10.

It will be noted that becket loops 32, which define the eyes 33, are of such shape as to guide the ends of the block over obstructions in the pathl thereof, and since there are no protruding shoulders between beckets and cheeks, and since the beckets and pin heads lie flush with or below one of the outerside faces of the cheek plates, there are no exposed shoulder surfaces at one side of the block to catch on obstructions during vertical travel of the block. In derricks or rigs, the stabbing board and other obstructions liable to extend into the path of the traveling blocl7 are usuallyall at one side, of the derrick, and the hoisting cable will, ofcourse, be initially vrove through the block in a manner to bring cheek plate 10, that is, the one carrying the pin heads, facing the Aobstructed side of llO the derrick. In certain situations, it may f be desirable that both sides of the block be uninterrupted by projections, and in such' cases, nuts 29 may be set in recesses provided in the outer side face of plate 11, the threaded ends of the lpins being cut olf flush with said face. A. Spanner, socket wrench, or like tool will then serve to thread the nuts on and off the pins.

Pins 34 and 35 are vpreferably in vertical alinement with becket pins 15 and 16, and in Fig. 2, I have shown two sheaves 36, of equal diameter, rotatable on pins 34, and positioned on oppositesides of partition plate'25; and two sheaves 37 of equal diameter rotatable on pin 35 andpositioned on opposite sides of plate 25.` Sheaves 37'A are shown to be of greater diameter than sheaves 36, so the cable parts running upwardly from the ylower sheaves are held clear of the cable parts trained upwardly from the upper and smaller sheaves. I-Iowever, it is apparent, in accordance with different methods of reeving cable through the crown and traveling blocks, I may vary the differential diameters of the twosetsof sheaves, or vary the relative diameters of the sheaves on a given sheave pin, without departing from the scope of my claims.

By the tandem arrangement of the sheaves, I gain two advantages. First, I am able to provide a narrow block having the same mechanical advantage as though all the sheaves were arranged side by side; and second, the cable draft is maintained approximately centrally of the block. This decrease of cable side draft as compared with the draft existing when a usual multiple sheave block is used, is an important feature, for it materially lessens the wear on both sheaves and cables. W'lien work of a lighter nature is to be performed, I may iirst disassemble the block, and then reassemble it after substituting a different set of sheaves, spacers and partition plates as shown in Fig. 3. Thus a single sheave 36 is substituted for the two sheaves E6, a partition plate 25a, extending only to about the periphery of sheaves 37 is substituted for plate 25, and a single spacer 26 is substituted for the two spacers 26 on becket or draft pins 16. bimilary, a greater or smaller number of sheaves may be substituted for sheaves 37 on pin 85. In fact, the sheave combination may be changed at will, within reasonable limits, to meet the various hoisting conditions which arise.

While I have illustrated and describedy a preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereto except for such limitations as a fair interpretation of the appended claims may import.

IIaving described a preferred form of my invention, I claim.:

l. A traveling block embodying cheek pieces, sheave pins supported by the cheek pieces, sheaves on the pins and between the cheek pieces, becket pins extending between cheek pieces, becket pins extending between the cheekv pieces near their ends, and beckets having inset legs extending between the cheek pieces, said legs being apertured to receive the becket kpins for holding them to the cheek pierces, the outer side faces of the beckets being flush and co-extensive with the outer faces of the cheek plates.

3. A traveling block embodying cheek pieces, sheave pinssupported by the cheek pieces, sheaves on the pins and between the cheek pieces, becket pins extending between the cheek piecesl near their ends, beckets having inset legs extending between and in engagement with the inner faces of the cheek pieces, said legs being apertured to receive the'becket pins for holding them to the cheek pieces, the outer side faces of the beckets being flush and coextensive with the outer faces of the cheek plates, and spacers on the becket pins between the inset legs.

4. A ytraveling block embodying cheek pieces, sheave pins supported bythe cheek pieces, sheaves on the pins and between the .cheek pieces, becket pins extending between the cheekpieces near their ends, they ends of the cheek pieces being arcuate and concentric with the axis of the becket pins,`beckets, legs inset from the outer side facesofthe beckets and pivoted on the? becket pins between .the cheek plates, the outer yside faces of the beckets being flush with theouter side rfaces yof the cheek plates, and the shoulders formed between' said becket faces and said legs being complementary tothe arcuate ends of the cheek plates.

In witness `that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto suscribed my name' this 13th .y day of October, `1923.

FRANK F. MIZE. 

